Scottish case highlights need for social workers to act within the law wherever possible

Social workers need to do their utmost to act within the law, the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) warned after two Edinburgh practitioners were found guilty of contempt of court for refusing to allow a mother to see her children.

The social workers failed to implement a court order allowing the mother two hours access a week because they did not believe it was in the children’s best interest.

They claimed the mother was in an abusive relationship and feared the children would be harmed. The social workers stated that contact was distressing for the children and had a negative impact on their well-being, as well as on their foster placement.

But in a court hearing this week Sheriff Kathrine Mackie said the pair had “shown disrespect for and disregard for the decision of this court and interfered with the administration of justice”.

Speaking after the verdict, SASW’s Manager Trisha Hall said the Association would always promote best practice which puts the child's needs first but that legal obligations remained important.

She said: “This is a sad and most unusual case. We must not forget this is about people’s lives but social workers have to act within the law and thousands of social workers are doing so on daily basis.”

A court order was made granting the mother access by Sheriff Mackie in May 2013, following an appeal by the mother against a decision made by the Children’s Hearing. The social workers then stopped access in July, after they concluded access was adversely affecting the children. This was ahead of a Children’s Hearing review in August where the Children’s Panel reinstated contact.

Ms Hall said she recognised “the very difficult decisions social workers have to make on a daily basis in complex cases but that until the Hearing in August made its decision, the social workers were obliged to act according to the decision by the Sheriff in May”.

Sheriff Mackie’s Final Judgement notes that the social workers did not consider securing a place of safety warrant.  There was also no request for an urgent Children’s Hearing review to consider contact arrangements.

In her judgment, Sheriff Mackie said: "It must be emphasised that social workers are in no different a position from anyone else and require to comply with orders of the court, Children's Hearings and the general law.

"They have no authority to act unilaterally, however strongly held their views may be.”

No penalty was imposed on the social workers. However, UNISON defended their actions and criticised the court’s decision.

Dave Watson, UNISON’s Scottish Organiser, said: “Our social work members have an overriding duty to ensure the child’s welfare is paramount in all that they do. However, it seems the paramountcy of the welfare of the children is not considered relevant during contempt proceedings. This is quite clearly a conflict of laws.

“Social work staff deal with complex and challenging cases on a daily basis and this decision merely muddies the water and puts those working on the frontline in a very difficult and vulnerable position.”

Mr Watson added: “The fact that individuals, rather than the organisation they work for, have been put in this position has wide-ranging implications for the employer/employee relationship and could have a ripple effect on all frontline workers.

“Today’s decision highlights the need for a legislative review and one that ministers need to address as a matter of urgency.”

Edinburgh City Council said it was supporting the two social workers. A statement from the authority’s Children and Families Convener, Councillor Paul Rodzik, said: “This has been a very unusual process involving five days of evidence. We have raised this case with the Scottish Government and believe there are implications for public services across the country. We will continue to offer our valued staff our full support.”

This article has been changed to correct an inaccuracy and to add additional detail about the position of the Scottish Association of Social Work